Jeneen B

Hello, I am so happy to finally get to write my success story! I started my weight loss journey in 2010. I am 5’3” and weighed 220lbs when I made my decision to begin this process. At the initial visit with surgeon the weight on my card was 199. December of 2010, I had Lap-Band surgery and lost a total of 29 lbs. Due to complications I converted to Gastric By-Pass on November 10, 2014. My starting weight was 170. I met my weight loss goal of 125 in early September 2015. Currently, I am 121 pounds and just over the moon with happiness! I’ve gone from a size 22W to a 2P. I’ve noticed although I’ve only lost an additional 4 pounds the shape of my body has changed. As a result my clothes needed to be altered again. Hopefully this is the last time as I do not want to lose more weight. I am scheduled to meet with my surgeon and others for my 1 year post-op visit, but I am curious to learn how others transitioned to a maintenance diet? Where you fearful of gaining weight? Did you gain weight? Do you see yourself as thin? Sometimes I “forget” that I am not 220 lbs.—I do not notice my weight loss until I see myself in profile. At times, I have shocked myself! What are your thoughts on plastic surgery? I am on the fence as the procedures would be purely cosmetic and more than likely an out-of-pocket expense.

I will be meeting with my surgeon and nutritionist in a few weeks to learn more. Although my weight is stabilizing my body shape is continuing to change. As a result I needed to take all of my new clothes down an entire size! Have you noticed this as well? My fear is looking sickly rather than healthy.

I also had difficulty with my band, it slipped, and I am at manager at a hospital. My band was covered under one insurance while my revision to gastric bypass was covered under another insurance carrier. My physician did not have any difficulty with my carrier to prove it was medically necessary to complete the surgery. I began the process last August and had gastric bypass November 10. My physician required I attend three informational meetings that are held once monthly before he would complete the surgery—this is the only reason for the delay. I also did not have reflux until the band slipped but medication did not help me. What my surgeon found while I was in surgery was a tremendous amount of adhesions had formed where the band was originally placed. The “reflux pain” I was describing was actually caused by the adhesions. I was in surgery for an hour and half longer than expected. He believes my issues were caused by the adhesions in addition to the band slipping. Unlike my band my recovery was slower than I expected due in part to the extensive surgery they needed to complete and the length of time I was under anesthesia. I was out of work for three weeks and returned part time for almost two weeks. Due to my commute (1hr 15 min each way) the first week back to work I was only able to manage to stay onsite until noon, but, this was due to exhaustion more than anything. The second week I had more strength and by the end of the week I was able to work a full 8 hour day. About mid to late January I started to feel more like myself and did not require a nap on the weekend every week. The last 6-8 months with my band my weight did not change. Since my surgery I have lost an additional 32 pounds. Good Luck!

I find I need to eat half a cup with milk then wait to see if I'm still hungry. I think the cereal expands too much....learned that the hard hard way!

In 2010 I had the lap band placed which resulted in a 29 pound weight loss over the course of the first year. I maintained this weight loss for two years despite being unable to eat more than a soft diet. My band was emptied and refilled multiple times. After multiple discussions with my surgeon we decided the best option was to convert to gastric bypass. On November 10, 2014, the surgery was completed and I learned that in addition to the slip of the band there were multiple adhesions causing all of the issues I had over the past two years. I am wondering if there are other members who have recently converted their bands and have you had any issues? Have you found living with the bypass easier than the band?